AN elderly woman has been left distraught after her phone with 25 years’ worth of old photographs on was stolen.

The Didcot resident, who has chosen to stay anonymous, was shopping in B&M in Hadden Hill Retail Park when her shopping bag was taken at about 4pm on Tuesday last week (2).

Her phone and purse were at the bottom of the plastic shopping bag, which was full of about £25 worth of cleaning supplies that were not yet paid for, that she had placed on the floor near the front of the shop.

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“It was a man who took it,” she said. “I had only put it down for a second and I was running around like a headless chicken looking for it when I realised it was gone.

“Someone picked it up and put it on their trolley and walked right out of the door. I’m not worried about my purse or the £150 inside it – it’s just my phone.

“It’s an old phone and it has photos from 25 years ago. People who are deceased, people’s birthdays, funerals, weddings – it’s upsetting.”

The woman, who is in her Seventies, phoned the police from the store’s security room but she received a letter on Saturday (6) telling her they would not be investigating any further.

She was told by the store that she would be unable to look at the shop’s CCTV footage due to data protection issues.

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“The police won’t pursue anything,” she said. “The said they weren’t going to do anymore. It’s upsetting this has happened as I’m a very vulnerable person and I am disabled.

“The police said they would come and look at the CCTV but nothing. If I could take it further, I would. All I’m interested in is my phone – all my cards are deactivated.”

The woman is now hoping that her phone will be handed into the customer service desk at the Tesco store in the same retail park.

“It’s a Samsung Galaxy JG so it’s not worth anything to anyone,” she said. “Even if they wanted to keep the phone and just return the card with all the pictures on would be fine.

“I have spoken to customer service and they have a letter behind the desk so they know to expect it if the phone is returned.

“I have six grandchildren so you can imagine how many photographs are on there.”

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If anybody saw anything, or has any information about the phone, they can contact Thames Valley Police quoting crime reference number INC-2022-0802-1773.

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Read more from this author

This story was written by Gee Harland, she joined the team in 2022 as a senior multimedia reporter.

Gee covers Wallingford, Wantage and Didcot.

Get in touch with her by emailing: Gee.harland@newsquest.co.uk

Follow her on Twitter @Geeharland

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